Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officer

A Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officer (CTSFO) is an elite British police firearms officer. They were established in 2015 to combat the direct threat of terrorism against the UK.

Before 2015, Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officers (CTSFOs) were a covert resource within certain police forces. Any terrorist firearms incidents would be responded to by a Specialist Firearms Officer (SFO) in the first instance, calling upon on call CTSFOs. Due to the November 2015 Paris attacks, which killed 130 people, as well as other attacks, CTSFOs numbers were increased and made public for the first time. The Metropolitan Police Service held a press conference displaying the CTSFO teams and some of their equipment. Other forces such as West Midlands Police, Greater Manchester Police, West Yorkshire Police and Police Scotland have teams of CTSFOs ready to deploy as a national resource in response to a marauding terrorist firearms attack.

The roles and responsibilities of a CTSFO is to protect and respond to any terrorist attack in the UK. In London, they can be deployed by air (by helicopter), by boat, and by road (often BMW GS800 motorbikes in central London). The Met's CTSFO team operate beyond London. There are many CTSFO bases up and down the UK, usually one or two for each region. Regions most vulnerable to attack are London, the West Midlands, and Greater Manchester. CTSFOs are specialised in storming burning buildings to rescue hostages. In London, they are on guard outside public tourist attractions and major places, like at Wembley Stadium. They are trained to storm planes and boats as well, both docked and underway.

Becoming a CTSFO involves extensive training. After spending 2 years as a regular officer, you can move up to become an Authorised Firearms Officer (AFO). After 2 years of this, you can become a Specialist Firearms Officer (SFO), become undergoing perilous training to become a CTSFO. Training includes fast-roping from helicopters, crawling through pipes in full body gear, storming buildings, rescuing hostages etc. etc. Their tactics are heavily based on SAS tactics, and they are very very similar to the SAS. If an event like the 1980 Iranian Embassy Siege happened again today, CTSFOs would be the first to respond. However, Sir Bernard Hogan Howe admitted that the Special Air Service (SAS) and British Army would probably be involved at some point. The required Multi-stage fitness test (bleep test) Score for a CTSFO is 10.5.

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